In most baseball and softball gloves, a web or backstop is provided between the thumb and the fingers of the glove. The purpose of the web is to provide a region in which the ball can be caught and also to receive the initial impact energy of the moving ball. U.S. Pat. Nos. 2,414,004; 2,510,218; 2,558,544; 3,321,771; 4,896,376, and Des. 153,186 disclose examples of many of the various types of ball mitts or gloves known in the art.
One of the shortcomings of the prior art baseball mitts, however, is that the baseball mitt is not suitably constructed for instructional use, especially for young children learning the game of baseball. Instead, virtually all of the known baseball mitts are better suited for use by persons who already know how to catch a baseball. Such mitts therefore are also designed to enable a skilled player to remove a caught baseball quickly and easily. This is, of course, important to an experienced player.
As a result, use of the currently available mitts can be quite frustrating for young children with little or no baseball playing experience because of the difficulty involved in learning how to catch a ball. Accordingly, what is needed is a ball mitt designed for young children with little or no experience in catching a ball.
It, therefore, is an object of this invention to provide a ball mitt that can be used as an instructional mitt for young children who are learning the game of baseball, softball, and like games.
It is a further object of the present invention to provide a ball glove with a web configuration that enhances the ability to catch a ball such as a baseball, softball, broomball, and the like.